A New Beginning For Illinois Sports Betting: Senate, House Pass Bill That Will Let You Sign Up For A Sportsbook Online And More

Pending Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature, we finally have a firm end date for in-person sports betting registration.

That is March 5, 2022, as the Senate and Housepassed HB 3136 on Thursday night. The bill also legalizes wagering on in-state college teams, though there is an in-person betting stipulation.

Thursday was one of the most significant days in the Illinois sports betting industry in years, and it will have major ramifications on the future gaming industry in Illinois.

Here are five ways HB 3136 will affect sports bettors in Illinois.

By March Madness, Illinois should be able to register for online sports betting.

If the Illinois Gaming Board ( IGB ) had issued a mobile-only license in the past, in-person registration would have been the only option.

But those licenses cost $20 million apiece, and there was real concern that no one was going to bid on them. Therefore, it created a scenario where in-person registration would have been in effect indefinitely.

The article adds a firm conclusion time if the trigger doesn’t happen, which you can study in its entirety below:

This is significant. If there are sports betting apps you would like to sign up for but haven’t already, you will soon be able to do so without visiting a retail sportsbook.

Illinois is the No. 3 sports betting market in the US by handle on a monthly basis. With online registration returning, it could usurp Nevada for second and charge toward $1 billion in monthly handle over the next several years.

You & rsquo will be able to wager on college teams in Illinois.

Betting on in-state school teams is already prohibited in Illinois. That is altered by HB 3136.

Immediately, wagers on Illinois, Northwestern, DePaul, etc. should be available. Of course, the best part is that you can only do it in people under legal circumstances.

The majority of Illinois sports bettors won’t notice this change in the short term unless you’re regularly visiting retail sportsbooks at casinos or racetracks, even though it & rsquo is an incremental policy step( more on that soon ).

It represents a major change in either case. It was against the law to place a bet on Illinois in the Land of Lincoln last year when it faced Loyola Chicago at the NCAA Tournament. That shouldn’t be the situation in 2022, though.

The bill states that only preliminary wagers will be permitted, so life betting is also not permitted.

Wintrust Arena may submit an application for a sports gambling certificate.

Illinois sports venues were able to apply for financial sports betting licenses under the 2019 gaming bill. The current WNBA champion Chicago Sky‘s house, Wintrust Arena, was not included in the list of spaces, though.

HB 3136 makes that right. Then that Wintrust Arena is a part of the United Center, Soldier Field, Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field. in submitting a certificate application for financial sports betting.

Of course, none of those venues have applied yet. Certain policies in Chicago need to be adopted first, but that should happen in due time.

Sky owner Michael Alter has been adamant about bringing sports betting to Wintrust Arena — so much so that the city fined him $5,000 for lobbying but failing to register.

Alter finally got his way, and the bill now includes Wintrust Arena.

There ought to be more virtual casinos soon.

Since March 2021, Illinois has been listed on six virtual casinos. Why? Due to the fact that it & rsquo is very challenging for a sportsbook to launch in an in-person registration environment.

The likes of DraftKings, FanDuel, etc., also had seven-plus months to register users remotely during Pritzker’s executive order. Pritzker ended the executive order in April, leaving little incentive for any new sportsbooks to launch.

That ought to alter in March 2022 and above. We are aware that Illinois sports gambling is something that BetMGM, Unibet, theScore Bet, Bally Bet. WynnBet. and Golden Nugget would like to sell. Most likely, the list is also longer than that.

In 2022, a new generation of bookmakers should debut. This implies more consumer choices, more promotions, various sets of lines, etc.

We are getting closer to placing institution team bets online.

Although the in-person requirement makes betting on IL college teams & rsquo less enjoyable, development, we are one step closer to full legalization.

Rep. Michael Zalewski, who pioneered this legislation, confirmed it to Play Illinois this summer. If in-person wagering on Illinois school teams goes well, it is hoped that more lawmakers may be willing to expand the policy online.

Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman is the staunchest opponent to the law, and he apparently has support from enough lawmakers to have sway.

However, the majority of US states that permit legal sports betting permit portable wager on their college teams. In marketplaces like this, there is proof of concept, and ultimately Illinoisans should be able to participate.